Losing a friend with a larger than life personality is not easy

Peter Amerasinghe was my friend. He later became my brother-in-law too. From our initial meeting at the Radella grounds, the home club of the Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club in 1964, our friendship developed for the next 56 years. It was a friendship which grew stronger with the passing years. In those 56 years I could not find a single blemish or anything negative about Peter. He was a gentleman through and through.

When I married his sister Christine, he welcomed me into their family unhesitatingly and unconditionally. His only brother Ralph, was also a planter, who went to Australia some time before and settled down.

He attended St Thomas’ College Gurutalawa, where his father was on the tutorial staff. He joined the planting fraternity at the tender age of 17. He learnt the basics of tea planting under veteran tea planter T.B. Pethiyagoda. Peter must have shown the potential to be a good planter even then, because Pethiyagoda kept him on as his Assistant Superintendent on Langdale Division, Nanuoya. Peter’s planting career moved upwards quite fast. He was next on Mousa Ella Estate, Lindula as Senior Assistant Superintendent.

He became a fully-fledged superintendent on Bearwell Estate, Lindula. He was there for most of the balance part of his planting career except, for a stint on Lipakelle Estate, Lindula just before he moved to Colombo to take over as General Manager, Lanka Wall Tiles. On the demise of his father-in-law he moved over to run the family company Aristons. He ran the company efficiently and developed it very successfully. He also went into partnership with Japanese interests and formed a company CeyQuartsz. He had a long business association with Japanese companies. The Japanese called him Peter San and they had a lot of respect for him.

He took to playing rugby football only after he ventured out as a tea planter. His colleagues on the tea estates he worked at were Leslie de Soysa, Ana de Alwis, Phani Dias and Ajith Abeyratne. In spite of not having played rugby whilst at school, Peter joined the Dimbula Club. He learnt the game from his team mates and from legendary coach Miles Christoffelsz. One of his friends was Owen Mottau, who not only taught him to play rugby but also introduced him to his future wife Cleone Paternott.

Peter not only learnt to play rugby but quickly became good at it. He was a rock solid prop forward. He was extremely strong and became Dimbula’s ideal foil for the big-made European bullies whom we used to come across occasionally on the rugby fields. At school he was an excellent tennis player. He continued to play tennis throughout the latter years, playing regularly at the Queens Club with his good buddy Graham Hamer.

Peter was in the Dimbula rugby team which won the Clifford Cup Rugby League championship in 1971. However, the high point of Peter’s rugby career was when he was chosen to play for Upcountry in the All-India Rugby Tournament, held in Colombo in 1968. That year he was also chosen to play for Upcountry versus the Colombo Clubs in the 1968 Capper Cup.

Peter loved to spend as much time as he could in the wilds and wilderness areas of this country. Not for him though the popular visits to Yala and Wilpattu but places off the beaten track. He took a few friends with him on these trips. I remember walking with him into the Horton Plains going along the Agra Oya to its source through Elgin Estate in Lindula. His camera was his constant companion on all these trips.

Losing a husband or father is not at all easy but losing a larger than life personality like Peter, is very difficult to bear. My heartfelt and sincere condolences go out to his wife Cleone, daughters Manju, Sarika and son-in-law Asanga, and his two granddaughters Anika and Elana.

May Peter attain a well-deserved restful peace with the Lord.

Jayantha Jayewardene